The Italian company Energy Dome has inaugurated the first of its impressive CO2 installations, which can store renewable energy for long periods and release it quickly. All at a significantly lower cost than large lithium batteries.
Efficiently storing renewable energies thanks to CO2 batteries
With the rapid growth of renewable energies, efficient storage of electricity produced on a (very) large scale will prove indispensable in the relatively near future. Currently, various technologies are competing for different market niches, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
Involving huge domes housing flexible bladders and filled with CO2the approach ofEnergy Dome based on the considerable expansion of carbon dioxide as it changes from liquid to gaseous state. The battery is ” loaded by using the energy to run electric compressors that compress the gas into smaller and smaller volumes, eventually condensing it into a liquid stored under pressure at room temperature.
This charging process creates waste heat, captured through a thermal energy storage system. As long as the pressure is maintained, the carbon dioxide remains in liquid form. As soon as it is needed, the stored heat is released to cause the evaporation of the CO2and a set of turbines recovers the energy intended for the grid.
A workable approach
Installed in Sardiniathe pilot plant turns out to be reasonably small (it only stores 4 MWh of energy and offers a maximum power of 2.5 MWe) but demonstrates the viability of the approach. Energy Dome specified that its construction had involved common and widely available materials and equipment, making it possible to calmly envisage deployment on a global scale.
If the overall effectiveness of CO2 batteries, rated at 75%, is lower than that of today’s large lithium batteries, its cost per megawatt-hour is much more attractive. According to the company, the commissioning of more installations will allow it to reach 50 to 60 euros/MWh against 125 to 230/MWh for lithium devices.
The next step will be to build the first factory “ full size which can store 200 MWh of energy and supply up to 20 MWe, which should be operational by the end of 2023.
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